


Love Story

by Deviant_Donghun



Series: Birthday drabbles and one shots [7]
Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 19:04:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20232841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deviant_Donghun/pseuds/Deviant_Donghun
Summary: A (late) birthday one shot for Byeongkwan. Set in the same time frame as Only One King.





	Love Story

**Author's Note:**

> The prompts I used for this are: Taylor Swift: Love Story / A meadow, running away, a dress soaked in dew.

The party was getting boring. The only good part of it happened toward the end of the night and while I had retreated to the balcony for some fresh air. I'd been there for a few hours and no conversation had progressed past small talk. Many people wanted to talk to me just because I was the duke's daughter. I really wanted one person, just one, who would want to talk to me for me.  
Then I saw him. He stood out in the crowd for the simple fact that he was shorter than most of the other noblemen and his features were a bit more angular than everyone else's. He caught my eye and smiled, detaching himself from the young man he was talking to and walked over to me.

"My lady." He bent at the waist, kissing my hand.

"My lord. I don't believe I've seen you at other parties. Are you new in town?"

"Yes, I am. May I know you're name?"

I smiled on the outside but sighed on the inside. This is where they usually figured out that I'm the duke's daughter and any hope of a conversation disappeared. Nevertheless, I still told him my name, intently watching his face for any signs of recognition.

"The duke's daughter?" He asked.

"Yes. My father is the duke."

He nodded but swiftly and effortlessly changed the subject of the conversation, keeping me engaged and intent on it until my father appeared out of the crowd.

"How dare you?!" He growled. "Stay away from my daughter." He grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me away from the handsome young man that I hadn't even thought to ask a name of.

"Father? What's wrong?"

"I don't want you talking to that _vagabond_. You are to stay away from him and forgo any further contact." His face was a dark shade of red, the way it gets when he's furious. It frightened me a little as I had never seen him that angry at me.

"But why? He seemed nice enough."

He pulled me off the balcony and down the stairs. "He's below us, (Y/N)."

"What rank is he?"

"He's a Count but that's not the problem. The problem is that he _worked_ for it. He wasn't _born_ into it."  
"You're angry that he's got bad blood?" I was incredulous.

"No, he's got _peasant_ blood."

I tried to continue the discussion but he shot down everything I said before I finished. He pushed me into my room. "The party's over for you. Go to bed." He the proceeded to shut and lock the door on me.

I pounded against it, demanding that he release me this instant but all I got in response was the sound of his retreating footsteps. Eventually, I gave up and flopped onto my bed, crying myself to sleep.

I woke to quiet taps on my window. Drawing the drapes aside I was able to see that a few pebbles had landed on my balcony. The door leading out were unlocked so I grabbed as shawl and stepped out into the night air. Another pebble flew past my head and into my room.

I walked to the banister and leaned over. "Who goes there?" I called in the loudest voice I dared.

"'Tis I." Someone stepped into the pool of light cast by the torches on the balcony. It was the man from the party.

"What are you doing here?!" I hissed at him.

"I needed to know you were alright." He seemed genuinely concerned.

"How did you know which room is mine?"

"I'm friends with one of the footmen. He told me. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Are you? I was afraid my father might have done something to you."

"He didn't do anything to me, I'm unharmed." We talked for a while, him laying on his back in the grass and me leaning over the railing. I learned that his name is Byeongkwan and that he earned his title by warning the prince of an assassination attempt a few years ago.

After a good hour or two of talking, he had to leave. I went back into my room and laid down on my bed. I didn't sleep for another hour, just replaying everything he said down to the smallest detail. He intrigued me more than anyone else I had ever met.

The next night, I went for a midnight walk in the gardens. He appeared there as well and walked with me, discussing the events of the day and what he still needed to do. This routine went on for a while before my father caught wind of what was happening. He was furious and threatened to lock me in my room permanently if I kept this up. I defied him again and he did it. He locked my room door and posted guards outside of it. He posted guards outside the garden entrances as well.

I opened my balcony doors, the only entrance to the room he didn't lock. I walked to the edge and looked over, knowing I was only on the second floor. I got an idea and grabbed my heavier cloaks and dresses, turning them into a knoted rope that could reach the grass below.

Before I climbed down, I changed into a more inconspicuous brown dress. It was still lavish but not as much as everything else. I gathered a few other garments and put them in a basket that I normally used for flowers. Just as I was about to start climbing down, Byeongkwan ran up to the light pool, calling my name softly.

"Byeongkwan!" I called down. "Byeongkwan, what are you doing here?"

"I had to see you." He saw the rope I had made and walked over to it, holding onto the end of it.

"What were you going to do with this?"

"Escape. I tired of my father trying to tell me how to feel. I'm running away tonight. Would you like to come with me?"

"I have a holding that I can't just abandon." He seemed to think for a moment. "However, I think I have an idea. Do you trust me?"

"Oh, Byeongkwan. I would follow you to the ends of the earth."

"Alright then. Climb down, I'll hold this steady and keep watch."

I climbed down, his face turned away and watching out for guards. Once I was near the ground, he put a hand on my back and helped steady me. When my feet touched the grass, wet with dew, he pulled me into his arms and held me. I held him back, my hands clutching his shirt.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered.

"Trust me, I'll fix this." He pulled away and offered me his hand.

I took it and we were running across the ground, the hem of my dress gathering dew as we ran. We ran all the way to his horse that he had put at the fringe of trees that bordered the side of the castle. He helped me up before swinging up in front of me. And we were off, running away together. I buried my face in his shirt, arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

I have no idea how long we rode but when we stopped I was glad to get off. He jumped off before gripping my waist and gently helping me down. I looked up at where we were and it was the royal castle.

"Byeongkwan?" I whispered, my hand gripping his tightly.

"It's going to be alright."

He gripped my hand just as tightly as we walked up to the doors. He said somehting to the guard that I was too dazed to make out. The guard led us through the halls and into an antechamber of some kind.

"Byeongkwan, what are we doing here? It's midnight."

"He won't mind."

The guard passed us off to a footman who brought us into what looked like the throne room. A man and woman were sitting on the thrones. We moved to the middle of the room and sank into a deep bow and curtsy.

"Please, rise." When we did, the man continued. "Byeongkwan, it's late in the night, we can skip the formalities."

He nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty." He explained to the king our story.

"Ahh, I understand. You want me to give my blessing for your marriage."

"Well-"

"I give it. You shall be married as soon as the law is fulfilled with the minimum requirement of a three week engagement. For that time, you shall both be staying in the castle."

"But, Sehy-"

"There really is no need to thank me. Now, the footman will show you to your rooms. My wife and I are going back to bed." He stood and offered his hand to the woman sitting on his right. "My love." She took it and he whisked her away.

As we were lead to our rooms, I looked at Byeongkwan. "Who was that?"

"That was the prince I saved a few years ago. He grew up to be king. The lady by his side is his lovely queen of half a year. Just one look at the two of them together and you can tell that they were made for each other."

I nodded. "That makes sense. Why did you try to use his first name?"

He smiled. "We've been fast friends since we were children. First, I was the son of his steward, then I was given the job of stable boy when my father passed away. I worked my way up to stable master, all while we were friends, each venting to the other about what had happened that day. I overheard two men talking about the assassination attempt and I warned him that night. I saved his life. He rewarded me by raising me to the status of Count. We lost touch for a bit as I got my new estate settled. We recently got back in touch. I tried to call him Your Majesty as I should have been calling him the whole time but he was having none of it."

We arrived at my room. He kissed my hand and wished me a good night before he and the footman kept walking. I stayed in the doorway until he got to his room at the end of the hall. I went into the bed chamber and changed into the nightgown that I had brought with me. I slept soundly all night.

We stayed in the castle the three weeks it took to cry the banns. I got to know the queen while I was there and became fast friends with her. When I finally heard news of my father, it was that he was still furious with me for running away and he had disowned me.

I cried into Byeongkwan that day. King Sehyoon heard the news and offered to provide a dowry for me. I tried to refuse but he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Once the three weeks were up, Byeongkwan and I got married, with a dowry from the king we were set. We went to live on Byeongkwan's estate and lived a happy life together, being friends with the royal family for the rest of our days.


End file.
